Fighting a War… or Leaving a Legacy?
In the middle of the hubbub of getting all the final papers completed and the underlying hum of the holidays, this last blog post of the year was hard for me. While Steven Pressfield’s The Art of War [1] is a quick read, I found that I struggled with it a bit. Below I will share some of the areas of dissonance I found (might I even say resistance?), how I grew in respect for the author and where I saw connections to our previous readings.
Pressfield is an accomplished author, writing both fiction and nonfiction work, and on initial review, this book seemed to be a book of advice to aspiring artists. In an interview with Tim Ferriss that I referenced to help me reflect on this work[2], Pressfield stated that he realized that there was an audience that wanted to learn about his creative process, and this book is meant to fit that bill. It is notable that last year he published an actual memoir[3] leading me to believe that this is a man who is motivated to share the lessons of his life with a broad audience. Indeed, it seems like more than fighting a war, he is working on his legacy.
As we get deeper into Steven Pressfield’s story, we learn that there was a time in his life where he found himself unable to finish a writing project and this fact sent his life into a destructive spiral. In more than one account, he says that this moment when he was unable to complete the work destroyed him. As a Christian, who believes that what I do does not define who I am, I struggle with this narrative. I cannot relate to having my own shortcomings tear my world apart, as I consciously try to not have my world be defined by my accomplishments. I realize this sounds reductive of his experience, and I do not want to do that, so I think I need to sit with this more so as to avoid judgement.
Putting that dissonance aside for a moment, I then was initially intrigued to see that the first section of his book focused on the concept of resistance. This is a topic that I speak on to groups with some regularity, so I was excited to get some new nugget of wisdom that could help me take my understanding further. What I found was a series of observations that varied from mine. In fact, I struggled to get to his real meaning because the differing views were pronounced. For example, when I talk about resistance, I am usually speaking to leaders who are leading change, and we are discussing barriers to adopting change. It is a topic I have a lot of fun talking about, so when I read his take on it and see vastly different descriptions, I become distracted. For example, where he says resistance is the enemy[4] because it gets in the way of your accomplishments, I teach that resistance is a tool to leverage for change because if you understand it, you understand what matters to you and your team. Where he says that resistance is invisible,[5] I argue that it is often visible and I teach others how to recognize it. Where he says that resistance is impersonal and objective,[6] sabotaging our efforts, I would say that it is deeply personal as it is a reflection of your worldview.
I could do a point-for-point compare-and-contrast analysis on a lot of these ideas, but I suspect this is 85% a semantical argument and I do not think that is helpful. What I really want to do is to learn what the author is really trying to get at and I think that I have discovered his main point to be that we need to remove anything that gets between us and the creation we are called to achieve.
This sounds a bit mercenary to me, but as I listened to Pressfield speak in that interview I referenced above[7], I got a sense that he feels morally compelled to serve the world using the talents he has been given, and I can relate to that. The way that he conducted himself in the interview was fascinating. What I saw was a man nearing the end of his career, and instead of focusing on telling his own battle stories (though there is some of that), I saw him draw out the interviewer and get him to tell his story. I noticed that Pressfield spent a lot of time encouraging this budding author, and that investment in others resonated more than any of the words he wrote in his book.
While considering this book, there were many moments where I noticed some overlap in his thinking with other writers we have visited over the past months and I will list a few of them here:
- Last year, we read another book that had a similar tone of cheerleading us on to be creative when we read Steal Like an Artist[8]
- I saw echoes of Spellbound[9] in the third section when Pressfield referenced Jungian theory[10], the battle between our self and our ego[11], and leveraging our muse[12].
- Finally, I also found myself thinking back to The Sound of Leadership[13] in that both authors struck me as sincerely wanting to share learnings from their lifetime of experiences to help others.
So, although I may not share the drive that Pressfield has to put accomplishment as the chief end of my existence and we may disagree on our use of the word “resistance”, I find myself inspired by his drive to help his fellow man through his legacy, as well as engaged in the interconnectedness of his writing with others who have been influencing our studies over the past two terms.
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[1] Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles (Black Irish Entertainment LLC, 2002).
[2] “The War of Art” Author Steven Pressfield on Overcoming Self-Sabotage, Momentum, and Turning Pro, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RhIp9C5OO8.
[3] Steven Pressfield, Govt Cheese a Memoir (Sarsaparilla Media, 2022).
[4] Pressfield, 4.
[5] Pressfield, 6.
[6] Pressfield, 10.
[7] “The War of Art” Author Steven Pressfield on Overcoming Self-Sabotage, Momentum, and Turning Pro, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RhIp9C5OO8.
[8] “Steal like an Artist : 10 Things Nobody Told You about Being Creative – George Fox University,” accessed March 1, 2023, https://alliance-georgefox.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma99478956501869&context=L&vid=01ALLIANCE_GFOX:GFOX&lang=en&search_scope=Everything&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&isFrbr=true&tab=Everything&query=any,contains,steal%20like%20and%20artist&sortby=date_d&facet=frbrgroupid,include,37295316594093947&offset=0.
[9] Daniel Z. Lieberman MD, Spellbound: Modern Science, Ancient Magic, and the Hidden Potential of the Unconscious Mind (BenBella Books, 2022).
[10] Pressfield, The War of Art, 33.
[11] Pressfield, The War of Art, 87.
[12] Pressfield, The War of Art, 107.
[13] Jules Glanzer and Leonard Sweet, The Sound of Leadership: Kingdom Notes to Fine Tune Your Life and Influence (Invite Press, 2023).
About the Author
Jennifer Vernam
11 responses to “Fighting a War… or Leaving a Legacy?”
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Jennifer, even though this is one of my favorite books, I appreciated your resistance to his writing. As Martyn Percy said “education should be about teaching people to learn dissent”.
I agree with you here: “his main point to be that we need to remove anything that gets between us and the creation we are called to achieve.”
THIS is why I love the book. It’s the point I take away. I want to fight resistance or selfishness or laziness or anything inside of me that gets in the way of what God has assigned for me, and this book helps me fight that good fight.
I see what you did there- pointing out my resistance to his definition of resistance. The irony is remarkable!
🙂
Like you, I got a bit caught up in semantics. I’ve always understood resistance in terms of spiritual direction (limited as my experience may be in that area). You said, “resistance is a tool to leverage for change because if you understand it, you understand what matters to you.” That resonates with me much more than Pressfield’s descriptions. I’d be curious to explore that more in connection with our unconscious selves, as you referenced as well. Alas, it is the end of the semester and life is full so that question will have to go into the “what I would study if I had more time” box.
It is true that we just don’t have the time. However, this idea that I can learn from my resistance, or my subconscious sabotaging my ego… it is now in my consciousness, and I cannot unsee it.
Jen, you said, “Finally, I also found myself thinking back to The Sound of Leadership[13] in that both authors struck me as sincerely wanting to share learnings from their lifetime of experiences to help others.” That’s a great connection, but it makes me pause to think… Am I more comfortable talking ABOUT a subject not necessarily connected to my work, or am I open to writing about my own learnings from my own life experience? I guess it’s a question of how much I would prefer a biographical approach to a book or would I prefer to keep a distance like an enneagram 5 would? So, where would you land…something more like Pressfield or Glanzer, or something like Northouse’s Leadership: Theory and Practice?
Jen,
I also resonated with your quote that “resistance is a tool to leverage for change because if you understand it, you understand what matters to you and your team.” This is so important for ministry leaders to remember. People aren’t necessarily against you as a leader as you make changes, they need to be heard and understood as to why they are resisting. And who knows, maybe they have some very valid concerns.
Thanks again for bringing your expertise into your writing.
Have a wonderful Christmas!
Hi Jennifer,
I appreciate how you took the time to address things in the book you didn’t agree with and investigated more about the author who wrote them. Thank you for the insights you shared from the interview you watched. You wrote, ” I saw him draw out the interviewer and get him to tell his story. I noticed that Pressfield spent a lot of time encouraging this budding author, and that investment in others resonated more than any of the words he wrote in his book.” I love how you noticed his heart and passion as he related to a person face-to-face. Resistance does mean different things to different people. My view of resistance has more to do with counseling and psychology, so I had my own twist. Your post reminds me to look past my own assumptions about others, even when those assumptions come from their own writing. It’s nice to get to know people, what they think, feel passionately about, what they believe, and how they interact with others. People are fascinating, full of surprises, and their stories unique. We can learn from each other even when we disagree.
Jennifer I agree with your thoughts on resistance.
I have discovered that in our nonprofit in Hungary and Slovakia, MANAGERS have primacy of place in keeping the organization running. However, what is needed now is LEADERS for Ukraine. Vision casters, team builders who inspire and energize subordinates.
I enjoyed your thought that resistance can be leveraged. I would like to hear more about that.
Shalom…
Thank you for how you described your dissonance or “resistance” to this book. I struggled a bit with his take on resistance too. If I looked at it completely from an artistic, creative point of view which seemed to be the way he mostly meant it, I can get on board. But I agree with how we need to be aware of resistance and utilize it as a tool. This is how we Lead through resistance. I also feel it’s a therapeutic tool, especially for marginalized voices…too often we’ve been trained to understand resistance as sin or disobedience. This is were I think this part of the book can lead down a dangerous path if not understood in context:)
Hey Vernam,
Your analysis highlights the contrast between Pressfield’s perspective on resistance and your own, emphasizing the importance of understanding his main point of removing obstacles to creativity. It’s interesting to see how different authors approach similar topics, and the connections you draw to previous readings provide valuable insights. The interview observation about Pressfield’s investment in others is a compelling aspect of his character. Overall, your reflection delves into the nuances of his work and its relationship to broader themes in our studies.